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The Seed of God prepares young children for baptismal life
And, she says, it was two of her grandchildren who inspired her to write about the foundational parables of the gospel message for her youngest grandchild.
"Knowing that one is a beloved child of God, whose love is planted within each of us, is the basis of a healthy spiritual life," she said. "My greatest desire is that every child can know the all-embracing love of the Good Shepherd and know assuredly they are one of his beloved and called by name."
When friends and other teachers saw what she had written, with the pages bound by hand, they asked for copies of their own.
With support from a small grant from the Episcopal Church's Office of Ministry Development and encouragement from the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd -- a program of Christian faith formation for children that is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy and the educational principles of Maria Montessori -- a five-book set has been published.
The Seed of God is written for children ages 3-7 to prepare them for and deepen their baptismal life. Woggan wrote it "as one script, all one story," she explained, but she divided it into five books to make it easy for handling by children. "Any one can be used separately from the others."
The bilingual books, with colored illustrations by Alicia Jewell and a translation by Maria Ludlow, are coil-bound and of a size easy for youngsters to hold.
"These books, perfect for little hands, offer beautiful 'Read to me' experiences for children sitting with their parent or grandparent," said Tina Lillig, national director of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. "They are meditations with few words and simply drawings, but they will grow into a lifetime of thoughts, conversations and prayers."
Marketed by the Center for Children and Theology, Washington. D.C., the books have been purchased by grandparents as a gift at baptism or for an anniversary, and by parents and godparents as gifts at Advent, Christmas or Easter, Woggan said.
Bishop Porter Taylor of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina said he often tells baptismal candidates that the day they are baptized is the most important day of their life. "These booklets affirm the centrality of baptism and are invaluable tools for helping God's children prepare for this rite and treasure its meaning for their Christian life," he said.
Last November, the books were introduced at the Episcopal Church's national Latino-Hispanic Ministries meeting at Kanuga Conferences in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The books are a resource for Hispanic families and parish clergy at the time of baptism and First Communion, said the Rev. Tim Hoyt, Hispanic missioner of La Capilla de Santa Maria, in Saluda, North Carolina.
Each of the five, 24-page books has a theme:
"The Seed / La Semilla" tells of the power of God in the child's life.
"The Good Shepherd / El Buen Pastor" relates the parables about Christ's ever-present, loving care of his sheep.
"Jesus is Risen! / Jesus Ha Resucitado!" offers sacred history,
"Your Baptism / Tu Baptismo" explains to children and parents the meaning of the signs of the sacred moment that is entry into the Christian community.
"Living in the Light / Viviendo en La Luz" gives the call to deepen the baptismal light and walk faithfully as a child of the Light.
The books are available from the Center for Christian Theology for $25 per set, $30 for a boxed set. An individual book costs $6. To learn more, go to: www.cctheo.org.
You can write to Genelda Woggan at hawandgkw@charter.net.
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